Feeling his life is passing him by, an aging doctor risks his andhis family's stable life to seek the uncertain and dangerous job ofbeing a medical missionary on the North Slope of Alaska. His wifegrudgingly follows him, using hard work and a nurturing spirit toovercome unpredictable challenges of their new life. Meanwhile,their young son accepts danger, risk, and hard work as "normal"while growing from 2 years to 16 years in an Arctic lifestyle and withEskimo as his playmates.This passionate true story uses the individual journals of Dr. HenryW. Greist, his wife Mollie, who is a trained surgical nurse, and theiryoung son David to tell of the remarkable experiences of this familyduring the 1920s and 30s at the furthest point north in Alaska.Their entwined voices presented here reveal the interests and pointsof view of each toward each other, toward the environment, inrelationships with the native people, and in their purposes duringtheir seventeen years in the Arctic.Although predominantly the story of their survival and their serviceand friendships with the Eskimo, they also relate of occasional Arcticvisitors among whom are Raold Amundsen, discoverer of the SouthPole, and Charles and Ann Lindbergh, who visit on their flight toJapan. Wiley Post and Will Rogers, attempting to reach their village,died within fifteen miles of their home and the Greists were given thegrim task of preparing the bodies to be sent to the US.It is all true and presented by the three people who lived it— a family dedicated to helping the Eskimoat great risk to themselves.
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